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Meeting Vocabulary

Whether you are holding a meeting or attending a meeting, it is important that you understand key English phrases and expressions related to meetings. A successful meeting has no surprises. With proper preparation and careful organization, a meeting can run smoothly. Setting goals and time limits, keeping to the agenda, and knowing how to refocus, are key components of an effective meeting.

Writing an Agenda

In order to keep the meeting on task and within the set amount of time, it is important to have an agenda. The agenda should indicate the order of items and an estimated amount of time for each item. If more than one person is going to speak during the meeting, the agenda should indicate whose turn it is to "have the floor".

Welcome

Once everyone has arrived, the chairperson, or whoever is in charge of the meeting should formally welcome everyone to the meeting and thank the attendees for coming.

e.g. I think we'll begin now. First I'd like to welcome you all and thank everyone for coming, especially at such short notice. I know you are all very busy and it's difficult to take time away from your daily tasks for meetings.

Introductions

If anyone at the meeting is new to the group, or if there is a guest speaker, this is the time when introductions should be made. The person in charge of the meeting can introduce the new person, or ask the person to introduce him or herself.

Objectives

Some people who hold meetings prefer to pass around copies of the agenda, and others will post a large copy on a wall, or use an overhead projector. No matter which format is used, attendees should be able to follow the agenda as the meeting progresses. Before beginning the first main item on the agenda, the speaker should provide a brief verbal outline the objectives.

e.g. As you can all see here on the agenda we will be mainly talking about the upcoming tourist season. First we'll discuss the groups that will be coming in from Japan. After that we'll discuss the North American Tours, followed by the Korean tours. If time allows we will also discuss the Australian tours which are booked for early September. Next, I'm going to request some feedback from all of you concerning last year's tours and where you think we can improve. And finally, we'll be voting on where and when to have this year's staff picnic.

Watching the Time

One of the most difficult things about holding an effective meeting is staying within the time limits. A good agenda will outline how long each item should take. A good chairperson will do his or her best to stay within the limits. Here are some expressions that can be used to keep the meeting flowing at the appropriate pace.

I think we've spent enough time on this topic.

We're running short on time, so let's move on..

If we don't move on, we'll run right into lunch.

We've spent too long on this issue, so we'll leave it for now.

We'll have to come back to this at a later time.

We could spend all day discussing this, but we have to get to the next item.

Regaining Focus

It is easy to get off topic when you get a number of people in the same room. It is the chairperson's responsiblity to keep the discussion focused. Here are some expressions to keep the meeting centred on the items as they appear on the agenda.

Let's stick to the task at hand, shall we?

I think we're steering off topic a bit with this.

I'm afraid we've strayed from the matter at hand.

You can discuss this among yourselves at another time.

We've lost sight of the point here.

This matter is not on today's agenda.

Let's save this for another meeting.

Getting back to item number 5...

Comments and Feedback

During the meeting, participants will comment, provide feedback, or ask questions. Here are some ways to do so politely:

If I could just come in here...

I'm afraid I'd have to disagree about that.

Could I just say one thing?

I'm really glad you brought that up, Kana.

I couldn't agree with you more. (I agree)

If I could have the floor (chance to speak) for a moment...

We don't seem to be getting anywhere with this.

Perhaps we should come back to this at another time?

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